


The New Normal

by CapnThatguy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Inspired by a throwaway joke from the Potterless Podcast, Magical Petunia Dursley, even if the end result is the same, which you should listen to if you aren't already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 10:37:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15861924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnThatguy/pseuds/CapnThatguy
Summary: Why does Petunia hate Harry and his parents so much?  What if it was because she too, had once gotten a letter in green ink on he eleventh birthday?  What if she had spent years trying to rise up out of her younger sister's shadow, only to have it all ripped away?  Would having a reminder of that living with you every day not hurt you too?





	The New Normal

Petunia Evans is eleven today. She comes into the living room to find her family waiting for her, a pile of presents on the table. As her mother gets up to give her a hug, Petunia notices that her sister Lily's hair is a good six inches longer than it was last night; she says nothing, because today is _her day_ , and she will not let her bratty little sister and her strange abilities ruin it. She is going to open her gifts, and then she is going to the beach with her friends, and she is going to have a wonderful birthday, no matter what length her sister's hair is. 

The first of these things goes quite well. She gets quite a bit of makeup (at her request, as she should look like a _proper lady_ now that she's nearly an adult) as well as a new doll (not requested, but this is secretly her favourite gift; she is not quite ready to give up on childhood) and some sweets. Petunia offers Lily a caramel in exchange for a promise to be quiet; Lily continues talking until the candy glues her mouth shut. Just as she is about to collect her gifts and bring them to her room, however, Petunia spies a letter, fallen next to the sofa. She doesn't recognize the handwriting; probably some distant aunt or uncle, confirming that they still exist with a note and a few pounds. The green ink is odd though, as is the address.

_Petunia Evans_  
Largest Second-Floor Bedroom  
Number 8 Paxton Road  
Cokeworth 

Petunia's mother asks her what she has. The girl shrugs, grabbing the letter opener off the table and roughly pulled it open. She knew on picking it up that it held no money, so she has already lost interest, but she has to know who sent it, in case her parents make her write them a thank-you note.

> **HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**
> 
> Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
>  _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
>  Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_
> 
> Dear Ms. Evans,   
> We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.   
> Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.   
> Yours sincerely,   
> Minerva McGonagall  
> Deputy Headmistress

Petunia stares at the letter, baffled. Another page hides behind the first, listing an increasingly bizarre number of items and books. It isn't until she sees the word wand that anything gets through her confusion. Her mother once again asks what the letter is. Petunia hands her the first page wordlessly, but keeps the second, as there is a note written on the back.

_Yes, Petunia, this is real. I promise this isn't some joke. A representative of the school will be by in two days' time to explain everything to you and your family. You needn't worry about the owl; as I highly doubt you have one available. -Albus Dumbledore_

 

Petunia Evans is eleven, and she is going to learn _magic_. She was going to live in a _castle_. She stands in a line of first years, her hands twisting because the tight-lipped woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall had made her put her wand away. The man at the wand shop had been surprised by the wand he said had chosen her; eight inches, holly and dragon heartstring. He said it would be a hard wand to master, but capable of great skill and precision when she did. 

She had been too focused on the fact that she was holding a part of a dragon to pay much attention at the time, just as she is now too busy paying attention the the talking hat to realize her name is being called.

“Petunia Evans!”

She starts, blushing as she realizes everyone is staring at her. She scurries up to the hat and plops it onto her head. 

“Ohh, interesting,” the hat murmurs into her ears. “I do love sorting the muggle-borns. Such a blank slate. There's cunning in there, but not the raw ambition. You'd have a hard time down there with all the purebloods too. Hrm. There's a desire to know it all, too, but is that who you are, or just what you're seeing?” The hat is silent for a moment, before shouting out, “RAVENCLAW!”

 

Petunia is twelve, and magic is much harder than she would have thought. She barely passed her exams in her first year, and every spell they learn in class is a struggle. The _theory_ makes sense, but the _practice_ of it feels like she has to fight the magic every step of the way. On her birthday, Lily got a letter to Hogwarts as well, which was no surprise. She had somehow set half the kitchen floating the week after Petunia had left. Petunia watches her sister standing in line with the other first years, wondering if they would end up in the same House. However, when the hat shouts “GRYFFINDOR!” Petunia is not surprised.

They meet up in the library and the ground between classes. Lily raves about how much fun she's having, while Petunia silently fumes and fights her wand like it's a horse bucking in her hand. Even in a world they now know is full of literal magic, Lily somehow manages to show up her older sister. Petunia cries in the Ravenclaw common room, up until the small hours of the morning trying to make her Dancing Charm work on the quill in front of her. Her cat, Mabel, is small comfort. While she loves the grey, Petunia sometimes wishes she had gotten an owl instead, if only so she didn't have to ask Lily to borrow Rosemary every time she wants to write home.

They go home for Christmas, and Lily shows off by making the silverware float on purpose. She gets a nasty letter from the Ministry of Magic for it, which Petunia can't help but be pleased by. Still, that was over thirty pieces of silverware, and Petunia had barely ever gotten three things to float at once. The resentment sitting in her gut burns stronger with every spell Lily casts, and every spell Petunia can't.

 

Petunia Evans is thirteen, and the addition of electives give her a ray of hope. Divination doesn't involve any spells at all, and Professor Delphi seems to like the way she interprets her tea leaves. Muggle Studies is an easy A, of course, but having one class she doesn't have to struggle in is a good thing. Lily says she'll take Care of Magical Creatures, because she bets that they have unicorns in the wizarding world. Petunia agrees, and immediately regrets her choices, despite the easy class. What she would give to see a unicorn, so touch one!

McGonagall takes ten points from Ravenclaw when her attempt to turn a parrot into a partridge somehow explodes, burning off the professor's eyebrows. Petunia cries in the common room until early in the morning again, and no amount of comfort, either from Mabel or from her friend Pandora stop her tears. At breakfast the next day, Lily either doesn't notice her sister's reddened eyes, or ignores them. She is focused on complaining about some boy in her year, James, who keeps throwing paper aeroplanes at her that turned into little mouths that bit at her hair. She points him out when Pandora asks. The boy is a little gawky, as most twelve-year-old boys are, but Petunia thinks that he isn't that bad, especially compared to the scruffy dark-haired boy next to her.

In Divination later, she asks Professor Delphi about palm readings, and specifically love lines. The professor looks at her hand and tells her that she will marry young, and stay married for a long time. “Magic is strong in your future,” she says. Petunia smiles, not quite knowing what that may mean, but emboldened by the concept. That night, Lily is complaining about James again. Petunia teases her, saying that if she's going to complain that much, it probably means that she likes him. Lily vehemently denies this, but Petunia thinks she's lying. Maybe she'll go chat with the boy, she thinks. Maybe she'll do something first for a change.

 

Petunia Evans is fourteen, and she thinks she may be in love. She knows that she is young, and he can be a bit of a prat sometimes, but James Potter is a sweet boy, deep down. He agrees to go to Hogsmeade with her in October, and before long she has him roaring with laughter over Muggle Halloween costumes. Within a few months they are as inseparable as two people in different Houses can be. He helps her learn her charms as much as he can, when he's not out scheming with his friends. Petunia tries to persuade him that Sirius is a bad influence, but Sirius has been friends with James much longer than Petunia has been seeing him. At least Remus is tolerable. He grows a lot this year, and by March Petunia has to get up on her toes to steal a kiss from him even though she's a year older. 

Lily still says she hates James. She is around him much more than Petunia, since they're in the same House. Petunia is envious of her, but Lily finds the boy insufferable, both in general and because he and his friends bully Severus at every opportunity. While Petunia doesn't condone bullying, she quietly makes an exception for Snape. He spent their whole childhood living a few blocks away and never told them that they might be witches! How dare he! So when James and Sirius chase Severus down the hallway with Stinging Hexes, Petunia just smiles and asks him how Potions was.

James teaches her shield charms and Bat-Bogey hexes in empty classrooms between kisses and soft words. He breaks through her defensive charms easily, and her hexes barely make his nose twitch, but she's happy, so she doesn't care. However, as finals approach, Petunia gets more and more nervous. When a last-minute illness means that the Headmaster himself is proctoring her years' Defense exams, she know she has to do her absolute best. So she goes to the library, researches the most powerful spell she can find. A Patronus, an embodiment of happiness, summoned from your spirit to protect you from dark magic, and terrible creatures like Dementors. James doesn't know how to do the spell, so she finds herself again in the Ravenclaw common room late at night, fighting back tears as a silver mist dribbles from her wand. She thinks of her parents, of reading her letter to Hogwarts, of kissing James behind the suits of armor. Nothing works. Mabel curls around her ankles, making sounds half of annoyance and half of concern. 

Exam day comes. Petunia does alright on the theory, but freezes when she sees Dumbledore sitting in front of her in the practical. She is asked to perform a Stunning spell on a mannequin. The red sparks from her wand barely make it twitch. She tries a deflection charm, and the ball of paper Dumbledore tosses hits her on the nose. She can feel the tears welling up once more, and all of the frustration, the jealousy, the rage, burst out of her chest in a fiery explosion as she shouts, “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

And then?

Nothing.

 

Petunia Evans is fifteen, and she is watching her sister leave on the Hogwarts Express. Whatever she did in her exams last year, trying to cast a Patronus with hate rather than joy, caused her wand to explode in her hand, and when she goes to Olivander's a few weeks later, he tells her with great sadness than none of the wands are resonating. She can no longer do magic.

Her parents try to homeschool her, since she's been out of the Muggle school system for four years now. Petunia can tell that they resent it, though. She struggles to learn math that she hasn't touched in years, to read books without a single spell being cast in them, to appreciate art that doesn't move. Lily sends a letter saying that she wants to stay at school for Christmas. _I don't want to have to face my sister_ , the letter doesn't say.

Mabel walks around the silent house, as though looking for the magic she grew up around. Petunia scratches behind her ears and tries to write a letter to Dumbldore with a pen, begging him to let her come back, to do something to help her get her magic back. She cries in her room, wishing that Pandora has written to her, that James had written to her, that anyone in the wizarding world would acknowledge that she had once been one of them.

 

Petunia Evans is sixteen, and a large tawny owl at her window has brought her a letter. In it, James Potter tells her that he doesn't think their relationship will work if she isn't coming back to school. Petunia knew this was going to happen, but she still sobs all day. Lily spends her days poring over her textbooks, trying to study for her Ordinary Wizarding Levels she will be taking this year. She mentions that James has gotten quite handsome, then covers her mouth as she realizes what she has said. Petunia says she forgives her, then places the slight in her mind next to every other thing Lily has beaten her at.

A few months later, Petunia decides to leave home. She can no longer stand to see the pitying looks her parents give her when they think she isn't looking. Typewriters and computers may not be magical, but they may as well be, and being a typist would be a nice, normal job that she could focus on instead of the empty hole in her chest. She leaves the cat with her parents and moves to London. Sometimes, she walks by the place she knows Diagon Alley to be, wondering who in the crowd shares her secret.

Petunia Evans is seventeen, and she has found a man who might be the most ordinary man in the world. Vernon Dursley is two years older than her, and is a junior executive who spends his time talking about his job and his one hobby, which is golf. Golf may well be the most non-magical thing Petunia has ever learned about. She learns the details exquisitely, trying to fill her mind with useless trivia rather than magical knowledge. 

She tells Vernon that her sister is a witch while driving to meet his mother. He seems more offended than anything that such an abnormal thing could possibly exist. He promises not to hold it against her. She wonders if he would hold it against her if he knew that she was once a witch too. 

Sometimes, as Petunia falls asleep, she wonders about the palm reading her old professor gave her, about magic being strong in her future, and wonders how that could have been true. Vernon certainly wasn't a wizard in disguise. If they were to have a child, would he be a wizard? Petunia hoped not. She wasn't sure she could handle it. Despite his normalcy, or perhaps because of it, she liked Vernon, and she didn't want any magic going about and ruining that.

 

Petunia Evans, now Petunia Dursley, is eighteen and newly married. She and Vernon are wed on Good Friday, and Lily is able to leave school to attend. Unfortunately, she brings James with her. Petunia had chosen to ignore the fact that they were now together, but it is hard to ignore when they are standing right in front of her. Vernon disparages the boy (and he calls James 'boy' despite only being three years older) without knowing anything about their history. Petunia speaks to her parents instead, but they looks at her like a dog who has finally learned not to chew on the slippers, pride mixed with pity. She tries not to let her tears touch her dress.

The couple move into Number 4 Privet Drive, and Petunia sets about making the house as normal as possible. Sometimes she swears she hears the radio in old Mrs. Figg's house mention something about Death Eaters, but decides that it must be some odd radio play. Her husband loves her, her home is beautiful, and she is finally, blessedly, normal.

Sometimes, her sister writes her letters. She sends them by way of their parents, so they arrive in the normal post, thank God. Petunia reads them, but doesn't respond. In them, Lily tells her that she and James are getting married. She also mentions some particularly nasty wizard who is going around amassing followers. She is worried for her safety, and for Petunia's. This wizard doesn't like Muggles very much, it seems. Petunia ignores them. Why would anything abnormal ever deign to make its way into Little Whinging?

 

Petunia Dursley is twenty-one, and very pregnant. She is going to have her son any day now. She is going to name him Dudley. Her sister keeps writing to her, telling her that it's getting worse in the wizarding world, that this Voldemort is gaining more power every day. She also says that she is pregnant too. Her boy will be named Harry. For the first time in years, Petunia writes back, gripped by the sudden fear that her child will be a wizard, and begs Lily to tell her if there is a way to know now if Dudley will get that dreaded letter when he turns eleven. By the time the answer returns, Dudley is born, a round-cheeked baby grasping at his mother's hands with fat fingers. Lily says that she spoke with Dumbledore, who is leading the fight against Voldemort, but who more importantly has access to the book that lists all the magical children in Britain. Dudley Dursley is not on that list. Petunia breathes a sigh of relief that feels like it had been in her lungs for weeks, and embraces her son.

At Lily's insistence, Mr. and Mrs. Evans take a long holiday to France, to stay out of the way of any collateral Voldemort might accumulate. Petunia stays stubbornly on Privet Drive. If she does not acknowledge her fear, it might as well not exist. Vernon remains blissfully unaware of all of this, focused on his promotion and his little boy, and not noticing the fresh ashes that appear in the fireplace during the day from Lily's increasingly frantic notes.

 

Petunia Dursley is twenty-two, and finally enjoying a regular night's sleep again. Dudley is starting to make sounds that are almost like words, and he seems to have a fondness for cars. Vernon approves, and wonders how long it might be until they can work on a car together.

Petunia is woken early one morning by the mewling cry of a child she does not recognize. She pads downstairs, searching for the sound. Did a neighbour have family over? No, the sound was coming from outside. She opens the door to find a bundle in a basket staring up at her with familiar eyes. With shaking hands, she picks up the basket. The child within slowly quiets down. She opens the note, written in a hand that she recognizes from an envelope from eleven years ago.

_Dear Petunia,  
It is my deepest regret to inform you that your sister, Lily, and her husband James have been murdered by Lord Voldemort. Lily Potter sacrificed herself to save her son, who you see before you. Voldemort tried to kill Harry as well, but your sister's sacrifice saved his life, resulting in the Dark Lord's defeat. However, I do not believe he is gone for good, and when he returns, he will set out to finish what he started. The blood that runs through your veins also runs through Harry's, and that shared blood will protect you and the boy until he is old enough to fulfill his destiny. I know this is a difficult thing to ask of you, but I beg of you, take Harry Potter into your home, and raise him as your own, but do not tell him how his parents died, or that he will be a wizard. He is destined for greatness, and strong magic surrounds him. He needs the love only family can provide if he is to return to our world as the blank slate that he must be in order to do what must be done._

_Yours,  
Albus Dumbledore_

Petunia drops the note, staring at the boy with his mother's eyes. The lighting-bolt scar on his forehead seems almost inflamed. Carefully, she lifts the child out of the basket and into her arms. He feels heavy, like he carries in him everything that she has spent the last five years trying to leave behind. This isn't normal. This is further from normal than she ever wanted to be again in her life. But as Harry Potter coos and starts to fall asleep in her arms, she realizes: whatever normal may be, this is hers now, and she must live with it.


End file.
